APPLE CRATE SHACK

Flowerpot, Tasmania

Residential - new

Apple Crate Shack, aka 60k House, is an exploration of adequacy: the design is guided by needs, not wants. A modest footprint generates a generous volume, satisfying all spatial and functional requirements. Circulation is succinct and efficient: strong connections extend to engage with the site and landscape.

The First Home Builder Boost prompted me to owner-build what I could afford, not what a conservative market dictated. While the government grant provided the capacity and motivation to build, the personal connection enabled the freedom to experiment.

The project is an investigation of ideas: reference to the local fruit industry is evident in the ‘apple crate’ aesthetic. All timber cladding has been milled on site from trees that had to be felled. A limited palette of materials speaks of durability and economy, contrasting the rough and the refined.

Working with an experienced builder provided a hands-on awareness of the consideration and ‘craft’ demanded of the building process - a valuable learning experience.

MULLET HOUSE

West Hobart, Tasmania

Residential - alterations + additions

Mullet House: 19th century street front, 21st century home.

From the quiet street in leafy West Hobart it doesn’t look like much has changed; a typical 1890’s workers cottage. But a rough-sawn timber wall designates the new side entry, slipped between the fence and the existing weatherboard cottage: most of the renovation is hidden from the street.

Numerous unsympathetic extensions have been made over the years, each spilling out and further overshadowing an already uninviting backyard with no connection to the house.

Consolidation and reorganisation collects the ‘living’ functions at the rear of the property, including the great outdoors ‘room’, to create a comfortable home suitable for modern living.

The extension steps down to ground level and incorporates passive solar design principles. Full-height bi-fold doors admit precious winter sun, and connect the Kitchen and Courtyard, which together mediate old and new, inside and out: the combination forms the new centre of the house.

builder / Overland Builders

engineer / Aldanmark Pty Ltd

photographer / Chris Warnes / Jordan Davis

WOODBRIDGE COMMUNITY SPORTS FACILITY

Woodbridge, Tasmania

Community - sports

The Woodbridge Community Sports Facility is an inspiring example of a collaborative, community-based project that has delivered an outstanding, fit-for-purpose facility, serving the needs of local sports groups. With funding from multiple sources and support from local community members, the project also received significant professional assistance from a range of committed consultants.

The elevated pavilion provides a comfortable vantage point from which to enjoy the weekly contests played on the oval below. The D’Entrecasteaux Channel and Bruny Island provide an expansive and scenic backdrop.

The building’s multiple functions and spaces are united by the one simple, functional roof. Passive solar design results in a range of comfortable spaces for players and spectators, both indoors and out, all year round.

A limited palette of materials, selected for both durability and economy, contrasts the rough with the refined. The composition welcomes the home team and invites visitors to enjoy a truly wonderful sequence of shelter and exposure.

A tight budget, an aspiration for community involvement and a need for functional but truly inspiring facilities motivated all those involved to deliver. The building has been embraced by all who use it, both passively and actively, and provides a lasting legacy to the community that helped create it.

AIA (Tas) 2014 Small Project - Commendation

AIA (Tas) 2014 People’s Choice Award

builder / R.B. Edwards & Son

engineer / Aldanmark Pty Ltd

photographer / Jordan Davis

KINGBOROUGH SPORTS CENTRE

Kingston, Tasmania

Commercial

The Kingborough Sports Centre provides facilities for the local high school and broader community. The brief called for a reconfiguration of the existing office space and reception, with the addition of a dedicated food handling area. The arrangement of the office spaces ensures all desks maintain visibility to customers.

A new suspended ceiling was installed to improve acoustic and thermal performance.

The inclusion of a commercial kitchen has enabled the centre to also operate as a cafe, allowing a wider range of cooked healthy eating options.

builder / Channel Construction

photographer / Natalie Mendham

SUNCATCHER

West Hobart, Tasmania

Residential - alterations + additions

Located only two doors down from Mullet House, this existing house had a similar problem - later additions blocking sun and restricting connections to the backyard. The clients wanted a ‘suncatcher’ to create a new sun room that would double as a guest bedroom. Featuring a burnished concrete slab and double-glazed timber-framed windows, the extension incorporates effective passive solar design principles to create a warm and enticing space.

The removal of the previous addition allowed the kitchen to extend and open to the now sun-filled courtyard. A new set of cavity sliding doors, reusing original doors no longer required elsewhere in the house, sit beneath the existing timber shelf. This new connection allows the kitchen to open up or be closed off from the adjacent living.

The existing garage, too small to fit a car, was removed and replaced with a new space. The bricks from the demolition were retained and cleaned by hand by the clients for use along the boundary wall of the guest wing.

builder / Overland Builders

engineer / Aldanmark Pty Ltd

ROSNY HOUSE

Rosny, Tasmania

Residential - new

Designed for a couple who like to entertain and a serious homebrew enthusiast, this modern new house comes complete with a Brewhaus in the backyard.

This project is nearing completion - more details and photos to follow shortly.

NEW TOWN COTTAGE

New Town, Tasmania

Residential - alterations + additions

(Under Construction)

The rear of the existing cottage was an assortment of additions, layered over one another, inhibiting access to the backyard. The rear additions were demolished to make way for an extension to include open plan living, dining and kitchen.

The clients like to entertain so called for a large internal dining room capable of seating 10 guests. The extension opens to the outside via a large timber-framed sliding door allowing for inside/outside dining. Wrapped in charred timber cladding, the new living extension sits past the original cottage offering a new side entrance to the kitchen.

Construction is nearing completion.

builder / Pontville Homes

engineer / Chris Potter Engineering

KINGSTON BEACH

Kingston Beach, Tasmania

Residential - alterations + additions

(Under Construction)

Located on the hill overlooking Kingston Beach this house was missing out on what the site could offer. Stairs built to serve the second storey addition interrupted the living spaces and limited solar access. The simple move of relocating the stairwell to the southern edge of the house has created an open plan arrangement allowing interaction between the living spaces, views out to the beach and sun deep into the house.

Perceived as a lantern when illuminated, the stairwell will be wrapped with radial-sawn timber battens. The renovation will soon be completed with the replacement of a new timber deck opening from the living space out to the garden.

builder / Channel Construction

engineer / Aldanmark Pty Ltd

TAROONA FOOTBALL CLUB

Taroona, Tasmania

Community - sports

The proposed Taroona Football Club redevelopment will provide fit-for-purpose facilities for an expanding community sports club. The existing outdated facilities will be replaced with a new building combining a range of enclosed and undercover spaces for players and spectators to enjoy.

The height and form of the elongated pavilions have been kept low to minimise visual impact on neighbours while views will still be permitted through the building from the pitch to the water.

This project has received DA and is currently in the documentation stage.

BANKSIA APARTMENTS

West Hobart, Tasmania

Residential - multi

The proposed refurbishment will see a major overhaul to an existing tired unit block. Enjoying a dominant location in West Hobart this project offers an opportunity to renew a 1970’s building and enhance the streetscape.

A complete redesign of the internal layout will improve the functionality of the units, transforming them into desirable short-stay apartments. New balconies and awnings will be hung from the existing structure, adding activity to the street. We propose to introduce a new material palette to modernise and humanise the facade. New connections will be formed to external spaces with extensive landscaping planned.

This project has received DA and is currently in the documentation stage. Construction is anticipated to commence in the new year.